The Poplars Care Home

Updated 16 May 2023

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 3 inspectors.

Service and service type

The Poplar’s Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. The Poplar’s Care Home is a care home with nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 8 people who used the service, 3 relatives and 7 staff, including the registered manager, clinical lead, senior care assistant, care assistants (including agency staff) and the maintenance person.

We observed interactions between staff and people. We reviewed a range of records including medicines records and 6 people's care records. We looked at 2 staff files. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures, were reviewed.

Following our visits to the home we received information from the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

Updated 16 May 2023

About the service

The Poplars Care Home is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 43 people. The service provides support to older people, some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 39 people using the service.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Staff had detailed information about risks for people. The daily care given to people, however, was not always recorded. We have made a recommendation that the provider reviews this and ensures records reflect the care given.

People and relatives told us they felt the service was safe. Staff understood their role in safeguarding people. The home was clean and safety checks were carried out. Medicines were managed safely. Recruitment checks were carried out safely. The provider had faced some challenges in terms of recruitment but working to overcome these challenges. We received some mixed feedback about staffing, some people told us they occasionally waited for support. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs when we visited the home and staff told us they usually had enough time to support people according to their wishes. All staff, including agency staff, had an induction in to the home and the staff on duty knew people well. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

There were systems to assess the quality of the service, which were monitored by the registered manager, with oversight from the nominated individual. People, relatives, and staff gave us mostly positive feedback and told us they had opportunity to comment on the service. Some people and relatives told us they had not been directly asked for feedback, however there were avenues to do this, such as via a suggestion box in the home and people were directed to an on-line review website. There had also been some meetings and surveys used to gather feedback.

The registered manager responded to audits from external agencies and had development plans for the continuous improvement of the service. They had developed a new process to document their daily checks on the quality of the service, but this was not yet in use. There was an ongoing program of redecoration and repair to the home. Staff worked with professionals to monitor and manage people’s health and care needs. The home worked with other organisations and the wider community around social and wellbeing activities for people in the home.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 23 December 2020).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service and, in part, due to concerns received about staffing and record keeping. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service is good, based on the findings of this inspection.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe section of this report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for The Poplars Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Recommendations

We have made a recommendation about ensuring records accurately reflect the daily care given.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.